SAN JOSE, Calif., May 10, 2005 – SEMI today reported that worldwide semiconductor manufacturing equipment billings reached US$9.35 billion in the first quarter of 2005. The figure is 2.3 percent above the same quarter a year ago and 6.5 percent more than the billings figure for the fourth quarter of 2004. The data is gathered in cooperation with the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ) from more than 150 global equipment companies that provide data on a monthly basis.

SEMI also reported worldwide semiconductor equipment bookings of US$7.25 billion in the first quarter of 2005. The figure is 21 percent below the same quarter a year ago and 12 percent below the bookings figure for the fourth quarter of 2004.

"The first quarter billings showed some positive momentum over the fourth quarter of last year, while worldwide bookings for semiconductor manufacturing equipment are down for the same period,” said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "Billings levels in Korea were up significantly over the previous quarter”.

The quarterly billings data by region in billions of U.S. dollars, year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter growth rates by region are as follows:

Region

1Q 2005

4Q 2004

1Q 2004

1Q05/4Q04
(Q-o-Q)

1Q05/1Q04
(Y-o-Y)

Europe

$958

$895

$760

7%

26%

China

$356

$363

$574

-2%

-38%

Japan

$2,130

$2,008

$2,178

6%

-2%

North America

$1,566

$1,744

$1,222

-10%

28%

Korea

$2,329

$880

$1,448

165%

61%

Taiwan

$1,297

$2,182

$1,994

-41%

-35%

ROW

$716

$710

$969

1%

-26%

Total

$9,351

$8,783

$9,144

6%

2%

Source: SEMI/SEAJ May 2005
Note: Figures may not add due to rounding.

The Equipment Market Data Subscription (EMDS) from SEMI provides comprehensive market data for the global semiconductor equipment market. A subscription includes three reports: the monthly SEMI Book-to-Bill Report, which offers an early perspective of the trends in the equipment market; the monthly Worldwide Semiconductor Equipment Market Statistics (SEMS), a detailed report of semiconductor equipment bookings and billings for seven regions and 22 market segments; and the SEMI Semiconductor Equipment Consensus Forecast, which provides an outlook for the semiconductor equipment market. For more information or to subscribe, please contact SEMI customer service at 1.877.746.7788 (toll free in the U.S.) or 1.408.943.6901 (International Callers).